Why is the Haversine Formula Inaccurate for Calculating Distance Between Two Points?

Calculating Distance Between Two Points Using Latitude and Longitude

In your provided code, you implemented a formula to calculate the distance between two points based on their latitude and longitude. However, the result it returns differs from the expected value of 278.546.

This discrepancy arises because the Haversine formula, on which your implementation is based, assumes the earth is a perfect sphere. In reality, the earth is an ellipsoid with a slightly flattened shape. For more precise calculations, it's crucial to consider the earth's curvature and eccentricity.

To accurately measure the distance between two points on an ellipsoidal earth, it's recommended to use the Vincenty distance formula. GeoPy provides an implementation of this formula within its distance module.

<code class="python">import geopy.distance

coords_1 = (52.2296756, 21.0122287)
coords_2 = (52.406374, 16.9251681)

distance = geopy.distance.geodesic(coords_1, coords_2).km
print(distance)  # Output: 279.352901604 kilometers</code>

By employing the Vincenty distance formula, you can obtain a more accurate representation of the distance between the two points. This improved accuracy is particularly important for applications requiring precise location-based calculations.

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